Used 2018 Kia Rio for sale 

The 2018 Kia Rio is a 4-door sedan comprising various features in its three trims, the LX, S, and EX. The LX is the base variant and is equipped with some very basic features that include a 5-inch display audio system, rearview camera, etc. The accruing features in the middle variant, the S trim includes cruise control, keyless entry, 60-40 split rear seat, and Bluetooth connectivity. However, with the high-end trim, the EX is well equipped with upscale interiors, a 7-inch infotainment system enabled with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, fog lights, chrome grill, etc.

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The LX trim just seems to be a basic vehicle with some basic features. The S trim is a decent car with some advanced features added to it. The EX trim stands out to be the fun to drive a car with plenty of features but it is pricey as well.

The 4-Cylinder 1.6L engine uses Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) and is mated to produce 130 hp and 119 lb-ft of torque. The engine feels more responsive at lower speeds. When compared to the previous edition of the Kia Rio, the tuning has been changed to reduce the horsepower from 138 to 130 but it has been tuned to ensure that the car goes on with ease even at lower revs.

The 1.6L 6-speed manual transmission engine feels thirsty and gives us the adequate fun of driving an entry-level compact sedan. The competitor of the Kia Rio, the Toyota Yaris it has a 1.5L engine under its hood which produces 106 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque. The other rivals, the Ford Fiesta and the Nissan Versa Sedan host a 1.6L Ti-VCT and a 16-valve 1.6L DOHC engine respectively.

Acceleration

Budget sedans are generally boring and have extremely sedate driving characteristics. Thankfully this is not the case with the 2018 Kia Rio sedan. The 1.6L 4-cylinder engine feels peppy and its figures prove the point. It is the fastest to reach 60 mph from zero mph in the segment, thanks to the 130 hp engine. It takes 8.7 sec to do so.

Its competitor, the Toyota Yaris also takes 8.7 sec to reach 60 mph but the quarter-mile count makes the difference. The Fiesta and the Versa sedan take 9.5 sec and 10.0 sec respectively to reach 60 mph which keeps the Rio way ahead of the competition in terms of acceleration.

Ride and Handling

The handling of the Rio 2018 is exceptional with some high-quality vehicle dynamics. Its low stance and sporty steering help maneuver the vehicle amazingly well. The ride quality of the Kia Rio is quite impressive with the Independent MacPherson Strut-Front Suspension on the front side and the Rear Coupled Torsion Beam with Twin Tube Shock Absorbers on the rear side which helps the car soak larger bumps with ease.

The 2018 Kia Rio gives the users a top-class experience when it comes to riding comfort, where the exterior vents help to reduce the noise inside the cabin even at higher speeds. The leather-wrapped steering wheel in the EX trim gives us a premium feel.

Braking

The brakes of the Kia Rio needs some improvement to stop the car with better accuracy. The 11.0-inch ventilated disc brakes on the front and the 8.0-inch drum brakes on the rear help the Rio take 127 ft to stop from a speed of 60 mph.

The Fiesta sedan leads the segment in terms of braking with 118 ft while the Versa sedan takes 129 ft. The Yaris takes a distance of 127 ft which is the same as the Rio, to come to a standstill position when the brakes are applied.

The fuel economy of the Kia Rio is quite impressive with a combined fuel economy of 32 miles per gallon. The combined fuel economy of the Yaris iA is 2 miles more than that of the Rio while that of the Fiesta and the Versa Sedan is 2 miles less than the Rio.

The 2018 Kia Rio stands second in the competition in terms of fuel economy with 29 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway, however, the Toyota Yaris tops the class with 30 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. The amount of fuel consumed by the other rivals, the Fiesta, and the Versa Sedan, is the same in the city with 27 mpg, with a mile per gallon difference when it comes to the highway.

The base variant of the 2018 Kia Rio is equipped with fabric seats while the EX variant has got dual-tone leather seats and cloth upholstery. It has a comfortable seating position and it is easy to get in and get out of the vehicle. The interior of the Kia Rio is by and large made of, a hard plastic material with the only relief of the padded armrests fixed to the doors in the EX trim.

The driver's seat is height adjustable one right from the basic trim. The front row seats are nicely bolstered which makes the passengers feel very comfortable. The second row of the car feels cramped with lesser legroom when compared to its rivals although it offers higher headroom.

Infotainment System

The base trim, the LX has a Four-speaker sound system with a 5-inch display, a USB port, and an AUX audio input jack. The S trim gets an upgrade to the existing system with Bluetooth connectivity and a 6-speaker sound system instead of a 4-speaker one. The high-end trim, the EX is equipped with the Kia's UVO infotainment system with a 7-inch display panel.

The floating design 7-inch infotainment system is placed at the center of the dashboard with a control button on either side of the display. Somehow, the infotainment system doesn't have a built-in Navigation system; instead, it uses the mobile's maps to access navigation. The other features in the infotainment system include:

• USB port
• Aux connectivity
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Siri Eyes Free
• Voice recognition
• Rearview camera

Cargo Capacity

The cargo capacity in the Kia Rio is slightly better than the Toyota Yaris iA but less than that of the Nissan Versa sedan. The overall cargo volume in the Versa sedan is 14.9 cubic feet followed by the Rio with 13.7 cubic feet.

The Yaris stands third in the table with 13.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the Fiesta sedan being the one with the least cargo space in the segment.

The 2018 Kia Rio is a car with slightly increased dimensions when compared to its previous version. It is the heaviest car in the segment with 2648 pounds of weight, followed by the Fiesta sedan with 2578 lbs. It is the third-longest car in the segment with 172.6 inches while the Versa Sedan tops in the class in terms of length with 175.4 inches.

The 2018 Kia Rio has a low stance; in fact, it is the one with the least height in the segment with 57.1 inches while the Versa Sedan is the tallest on the list with 59.6 inches.

Exterior Features

The 2018 Kia Rio has a conservative styling with the signature tiger-nose grille on the front side, a clean side profile, and an ordinary rear design. The headlights are not LED lamps as expected; instead, Kia has used Halogen multi-reflector headlights in it. The rear is also fitted with incandescent tail lamps instead of LED. The other standard and available exterior features include:

• Fog Lights
• Chrome grille surround
• Variable Intermittent Windshield Wipers
• Heated Rear Glass w/ Timer
• Solar Control Glass
• Dual Body-Color Power Heated Mirrors
• Auto Light Control

Kia is known for providing an excellent set of safety aids in its vehicles and the Rio sedan is a fine example of it. Even though the sedan is not crash-tested by the NHTSA, the IIHS has been generous enough to test it and publish the results.

The Rio is equipped with some high-tech safety features like the Dual Front Advanced Airbags, Full-Length Side Curtain Airbags, the Dual Front Seat-Mounted Side Airbags, Front and Rear Crumple zones, EBD, Electronic Traction Control, etc.

In terms of crash avoidance and mitigation, the LATCH rating of the car is "acceptable" but the headlights score a "poor" rating. However, the crash tests are not yet done on the 2018 Kia Rio, so we are not supposed to comment on the overall safety ratings of the vehicle.

Safety Features

• 4-wheel antilock brakes
• Brake Assist, panic
• Electronic brake force distribution
• Hill Start Assist
• StabiliTrak electronic stability control system
• Electronic traction control
• LED Daytime Running Lamps
• 10 airbags
• Airbags, dual-stage, frontal, driver and right-front passenger includes Passenger Sensing System
• Door locks, rear child security
• LATCH system (Lower Anchors and Top tethers for CHildren), for child safety seats
• Trunk emergency release handle
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Kia Rio vs Toyota Yaris 

The Yaris is fun to drive a car with a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine in it, producing 103 hp and 106 lb-ft of torque. It has an edge over the Kia Rio in terms of fuel economy but it produces a lot of noise whereas the Rio has a quieter cabin. The pricing of the Yaris is also higher than the Kia Rio.

Kia Rio vs Ford Fiesta 

The Rio and the Fiesta sedan are similar when it comes to handling. Although the Fiesta sedan has got a powerful 1.6L engine under its hood, the Rio is slightly cheaper than the Fiesta sedan, and also that the former offers more cargo volume than the latter.

Kia Rio vs Nissan Versa Sedan 

The Versa sedan hosts a 1.6L engine which doesn't actually feel as refined as the Rio. However, the Versa Sedan is the cheapest car in the segment with an MSRP of $12,110 which is quite affordable for those who wish to buy a simple basic car.

The 2018 Kia Rio is a conservatively styled car with high-quality interiors, a well-refined engine, and impressive handling. The car is equipped with some amazing safety features as standard and the base and middle trims are affordable but the feature-rich high-end trim of the Rio is quite expensive especially for those who wish to buy their first car.